Your Garment Stories
HOBW1 – Your Hemp Bag Story
Thank you for scanning your code to discover the story behind your new hemp bag.
H – What is Hemp?
Hemp is a variety of the Cannibis plant – a fast growing, ancient crop that was one of the first to be spun into fibre. It’s currently used for many different products from rope to clothing. Often people are confused between hemp and the cannibis drug – they are different strains of the plant. Growing hemp is regulated in many countries, due to legal requirements to control farming of its close relation. The fabric in your bag is created from 70% hemp, grown in Romania.
O – What is Organic Cotton?
Organic cotton is a form of the cotton plant that is grown in a more ecological way, with no harmful synthetic pesticides. Organic cotton farmers use more natural forms of fertilisers and work to support and enhance biodiversity and soil health. Organic cotton seeds are not genetically modified and, increasingly, are seed varieties that are native to the region. Native cotton varieties require less (or no) water as they rely on rainfall and are more resistant to local bugs.
The fabric used to make your hemp bag contains 30% organic cotton grown in Turkey.
B – Fabric from Bysshe Partnership
Bysshe Partnership is an independent company producing high quality fabrics in the traditional textile heartland of the British Isles. They only use natural and organic fibres, sourcing yarns from the UK and Europe, to provide a regional network of production where it is possible to oversee the entire process from seed to final creation.
Bysshe works with some of the last remaining textile mills in the UK. Most of our weaving takes place in Lancashire, before the rolls travel a short distance over the hill to be finished in Yorkshire.
Where Does It Come From? got to know Bysshe several years ago when our founder Jo Salter was involved in conference panel sessions with Bysshe co-founder Henry Palmer. The discussions always covered the benefits of natural fibres for sustainable fabrics. Impressed with Bysshe’s expertise in hemp and other natural fibres, and their commitment to local manufacture, Jo chose Bysshe’s fabric to create your hemp bag.
Bysshe fabrics are woven in Lancashire on Jacquard looms and finished in Yorkshire. The warp yarn is hemp and the weft yarn organic cotton.
W – Designed and Created by Where Does It Come From?
Your hemp bag was designed by Lucy Kerry, product manager at Where Does It Come From? to fit the customer specification. Due to the thickness of the fabric Lucy decided that these would work best as ‘pouches’ and could also be re-used as a mobile phone or sunglasses case.
The bags were then tailored in the UK, according to Lucy’s design.
1 – Ethical and Sustainable from Where Does It Come From?
Hi I’m Jo, the founder of Where Does It Come From? – the clothing business that brings you ethical and traceable clothes and this is Lucy our project manager. Currently based in Ipswich, Suffolk (UK) we work closely with socially focused production partners. Together we create and develop the designs and produce beautiful clothes that harness the skills of the local artisans. We work as ethically and sustainably as possible to create beautiful basics that you will want to wear again and again. We hope that finding out about how your clothes were made and the people who made them will make you love them just a little bit more…..
From idea to business launch took two years, with launch happening in June 2014. You can read more in our News & Blog section, including newspaper and radio coverage. It’s been wonderful to be acknowledged for our work – see our Ethical Credentials. More recently we were delighted and honoured when Joanna Lumley wore one of our scarves on her TV documentary ‘Joanna Lumley’s India’.
Thank you so much for buying from us – the more we sell the more difference we can make. We have lots of plans for new designs, new partners and new projects so stick with us and together we can change the world!